What ’s the first matter you do with your load of predatory mites , parasitoids and predators when you receive them ? You probablycheck to see if these natural enemiesare alivebefore you put them out in the craw .
NowAlbert Grimm ( Jeffries Greenhouses)and I have come up with a path tocheck if many of your microbic products are still workable , too .
We ’re still in the physical process of testing these methods for all microbial products , so please consider thispreliminary . Right now , we knowthis works forBeauveriaandMetarhizium - free-base products only(e.g . BotaniGard , BioCeres and Met52 ) . I ’m hoping to put the method acting up for more merchandise in December .
Figure 1.Various fungi growing on a 3M Yeast and Mold Petrifilm
Supplies Needed:
Methods:
Step 1 : Disinfect the pee cup and the measuring spoon with rubbing alcohol . Wipe dry with newspaper publisher towels . stride 2 : In one plastic cupful , add a small amount of sterile water ( a few mL is fine ) . Keep for Step 4 to represent as acontrol . Step 3 . Take a 2nd loving cup to shuffle up your intersection in . impart 200 mL of sterile water . Then add approx . 1/16thof a teaspoon ( 0.3ml ) of Cartesian product ( BeauveriaorMetarhizium ) . To assess , fill the smallest baking measure spoon ( 1/8thof a teaspoon ) about one-half means . raise well . This will give an approximate assiduity of 1 g / L , which is similar to recommended rate of these products . Step 4 : Take a disposable pipette and fill with unimaginative water supply . ( ensure to re - seal off your bag of pipettes so they stay clean and unfertile ) . Grab a individual Petrifilm and peel back the thin , light cover on top . Carefully wedge the pipette to form a business line of urine across the open of the Petri film . stone’s throw 5.Repeat Step 4 on the same Petrifilm using your mathematical product in solvent . you could use the same disposable pipette ( since it only had sterile weewee in it previously ) .
With the growers still tentative in their use of microbic - found product , this viability test may give agriculturist some piece of mind . It will beparticularly utile for product that ’s been shipped in hot summertime months , or in the dead of winter , as some products are sensitive to extreme temperature . It can also be used totestproduct that has beensitting in storage for recollective period .
Note thatthis is a mere live / dead trial . These methodsdo not quantifyhow muchof the ware is still practicable . That ’s something Dr. Anissa Poleatewich ( Vineland ) and I are operate on , as we think it would be utile to have sex if your product is decreasing in efficacy over time . So , stay on tune up for more information as we perfect our methods .
Figure 2.0.2mL sterile, disposable pipettes that can be obtained from Amazon.ca.
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Figure 3. Photo courtesy of Albert Grimm. A 3M Petrifilm used to test the viability of Met52 and BotaniGard. The blank water control indicates that all fungi came from the products, not from the water source (here, distilled water).
